A/N- Because this song plays at my job nearly every day and demanded a fic. One- Shot. Please Review. ~Merry Christmas~
Rory woke to a set of small hands on his face, and opened his eyes to see the Doctor's green ones staring back at him. He startled and nearly leapt in shock, until he realized these eyes belonged to his granddaughter, also the source of the light smacks that his head and arms had been receiving.
"Granddad Rory," the toddler whispered, sitting to his side as she shook his head again. "Granddad Rory," she repeated with more strength.
He looked up at the little girl, her young face anxious as she worked to rouse her rather newly-acquired grandparents. He tried to answer her through the mouth her hands were currently squeezing.
"Desss Della?" he managed, before she loosened her grip, "What is it, love?"
Her eyes turned furtively toward Amy, whose face was still soft in sleep. He followed her gaze as he sat up, careful to be quiet as he turned his attention back to Bella.
"I need to talk to you. It's impordant," the tot urged him quietly. Then she crawled over him with all the grace of her father, her foot landing on his stomach and kicking his leg ("Umph!") before she reached the middle of him and Amy, whom she immediately began to shake as well. "Both of you."
"What's wrong, Bells?" asked Rory as he bent over, pulling the clearly anxious child off his wife and into his arms.
She looked at him with a serious, worried expression, still debating whatever problem had pulled her into their room.
"You're Mommy's daddy, right?" she asked, unsure.
"Yes," he assured that he was in fact her mother's father, curious to what could so vex the child.
"Well, Mommy says it wrong to tell tales on peoples, but Uncle Jack says we should always tell Daddy or Mommy when we break the rules, even if we might get punished, because then we can learn from our mixtapes."
"Okay," Rory encouraged, still unclear as to what had put the toddler in his bed.
"But if you're Mommy's daddy and mommy, do I tell you when Mommy breaks the rules?"
Rory was taken aback that whatever River had done had so affected the little girl in his arms that she'd woken him up for his help. He automatically looked to Amy, who still had her eyes closed, but the smile growing on her face belied her sleep.
"That… is a great question, Bella. Why don't you jump on Gran Amy and see if she can't help us answer it?"
Bella's face lit up, her eyes wide in excitement at what had just been suggested. Then, she stood up on shaky legs, bracing herself with all her might before she leaped onto the deceptive "sleeping" ginger, whose eyes immediately shot open at the same speed as her arms, which reached around the toddler, whom she proceeded to playfully tickle for "waking" her up.
When Bella and Rory managed to pin down Amy in victory, she laughed once more before she caught her breath, relaxing her body in defeat, a smile on her face at her newly discovered favorite wake up call.
They finally all calmed down, Bella firmly settled against Rory's chest as she faced Amy.
"Now, Bella- you were saying something about Mummy breaking a rule."
"Yes," the child remembered, suddenly serious once more as she nodded her head in affirmation.
"What rule?"
Bella looked uncomfortable at betraying her mother, deliberating once again whether or not to share her secret.
"Well, you know it's gonna be Christmas…" she began.
"Yes, it's Christmas Eve today- that means Christmas is tomorrow," reassured Rory.
"Bella," started Amy, guessing at what rule Bella could have seen her mother break, "did Mummy try to peek at her presents?"
Bella looked up at that, a slight look of guilt crossing her face. "No." She shook her head.
"But Santa Claus did come already. He came early, but he wasn't supposed to!" exclaimed the child, now clearly upset.
"Did you see what Santa Claus brought you?" interrogated Rory.
"No. Not extactly," the little girl claimed.
"Bella, what did Mummy do, then?"
The little girl's eyes were confused as she looked up at her grandfather. She seemed really troubled, and kept opening her mouth as if to talk, then closed it firmly. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind.
"Mommy says there are rules for being a mommy and daddy- to being married."
"Yes, there are."
"And Daddy said one of those rules is that mommies and daddies can only kiss each other."
"That's true," Rory led.
"Well…" Bella seemed to squirm at finally revealing her dilemma, "I went into the room with the Christmas tree and saw Mommy, kissing. But she wasn't kissing Daddy."
"Who was she kissing, Bella?" asked Amy, curious about her daughter's clandestine nighttime activities even as the light went on in Rory's head.
"Santa Claus."
Amy blinked, then squeezed back a smile and choked back a snort. "Santa Claus?" she confirmed, avoiding looking at her husband, who was practically red with holding in his laughter, a smile wide on his face.
"Yes," sighed the little Time Lady, her evident disappointment in her mother the only thing keeping Amy from breaking out into hysterics. "He was really tall, but he wasn't as fat as they sayed he is. Mommy's hands were on his face, so I couldn't see that part right. But he had on the suit! And he even had a cool bowtie on his belt- and he ate all the Jammie Dodgers that he's not supposed to eat until Christmas!" cried the indignant little girl about the man who'd made Mommy disobedient.
"Well," nodded Amy, her suppressed laughter a real effort now, "That- that is very serious indeed. Wouldn't you say, Mr. Pond?"
Rory shut his mouth as soon as his granddaughter looked up at him, trust in his superior knowledge evident on her face. Amy took the opportunity to shake silently and violently with pent up amusement.
"That is… that is very serious, Bella. And you know what, we, Amy and I, are just going to have a sit down and a chat with your mummy so she knows better than to be kissing Santa Clauses and not daddys." Amy had tears in her eyes at this point, her sides aching as she bit her lip to keep from making noise.
The sincere look of thanks in the toddler's face kept the Ponds quiet and appropriately concerned a little longer as she sighed a long breath of relief, thankful that Mommy's daddy and mommy would correct her about her disobedience the way Mommy corrected Bella. They pulled her into a group hug, giggling silently to each other at the little girl's "problem." Now it was time to plan an elaborate scolding for River.
"River!" called Amy loudly when they'd all gotten properly dressed and ready for the day. "Your father and I need to talk to you!"
Rory held Bella's hand lightly in his, Amy dramatically threw her hair back as she folded her arms, getting into character. Rory looked down to his granddaughter, smiling reassuringly, before setting his face into a stern expression, matching his wife's serious look as they waited for their grown daughter.
River strolled into the room a few moments later, her dress flowing behind her as she took in sight of her parents.
"Hey, baby- did you wake Grandad Rory and Gran?" she asked as she looked down at her daughter, walking forward to reach for her before she was stopped.
"Yes, she did," said Rory crossly, winking quickly when River looked up at his tone in surprise.
"Sit," said Amy succinctly, her arms still crossed as she indicated the bench by the table in front of her.
Just then, the Doctor came looking for his daughter after having failed finding her in her bedroom. He swaggered in smiling and clapping his hands, "Where's my beautiful, happy little…girl?" He took in the tense postures of the Ponds, his wife looking surprised and slightly confused as she sat down and her parents stepped up to her.
Amy tilted her mouth up slightly at the Doctor, looking down at Bella before meeting his eyes again, trying to send a message without words.
He looked in askance at his in-laws, before rounding the table and sitting on the other side of this wife. Rory then handed Bella off to her father, as he prepared to play dad to his own grown child.
"What's this about, Mum?" asked River as she looked at both of her parents.
"Bella… came to us with a concern she had," began Rory, glancing at Amy, whose lips remained in a tight line as she once more tried to hold in her laughter and appear very cross.
"Bella, darling, what's wrong?" River glanced between the bothered look of her daughter and the not-quite-hidden amusement of her parents, confused as to why they seemed to be treating her like a child.
"Well, River," Amy continued, as Rory's face made its way skyward so he could keep his smile hidden from the little girl in the Doctor's lap, "It seems you made a… special friend. But you see, daughter, when mummies are married to daddies, they have to be careful with their special friends."
The Doctor and River both looked at Amy and Rory in confusion, River eyeing her mother carefully, hoping for a clue in this strange conversation. The Doctor's eyes kept darting from his wife to his in-laws, trying to make the connection to this nonsensical discussion.
"Special friend?" River tilted her head. "What do you mean special friend?"
Amy could no longer look at her daughter with a straight face, so Rory took the helm, saying in his best dad voice. "River, Bella saw you last night, while you were kissing… Santa Claus."
The Doctor's face lit up, his smile spreading wide as he choked back a laugh before he buried his face in his daughter's curls while River pretended to cough as an excuse to cover her mouth and her smile. She bit her hand to hold in her mirth.
"Oh?" She coyly squeaked out at long last.
"Yes," Amy had finally managed to compose herself, keeping a strict straight face as she paced in front of her daughter, her reproachful countenance and posture reminiscent of the very young woman she once was scolding her best friend/ child. "Now, your father and I know it's Christmas, and it's exciting and new- but River Song, we do not just go around kissing Santa- it's against the special mummy and daddy rules. Is that understood?"
Rory kept his face set sternly on River, but Amy couldn't help but take a peek at Bella, and subsequently the Doctor, who was shaking in silent giggles behind his daughter.
Amy moved her eyes back to River, communicating Bella's concern and reactions in a language only mother/ daughter/ best friends would know. River hung her head, feigning shame at her discovered indiscretion.
"Yes, Mum," she whispered obediently, her head low enough to hide her wide smile.
"Now, we don't want to have to scold you like this again, River," continued Rory, his fatherly tones shining through, "but actions do have consequences. Now, you need to tell the Doctor you're sorry for kissing Santa Claus, and promise to never kiss anyone like that who isn't your husband again." He felt somewhat ridiculous, but the little girl who'd come to him with all trust and sincerity was truly upset enough with Santa Claus as to ruin her holiday. And since Rory and Amy had so little time and influence with her, this charade they were acting out was worth setting her young mind at ease.
"I promise," River said with all humility, before moving to kiss her husband firmly on the lips. "I'm sorry for kissing Santa, Doctor. Bella's absolutely right. Mummies and daddies should only kiss each other, and not any old Christmas figure who happens to wander into their TARDIS." She kissed him once more, her mouth hiding both his laughter and her own as he broke away and held his daughter close to him, kissing her firmly on her head.
"Now," said River to her precocious child, "since Mummy apologized, does that mean you'll forgive Santa Claus as well?"
"Well," deliberated the little girl, "Daddy does say to give peoples a chance. Okay Mommy- but if he keeps coming back before Christmas, we'll be all out of jammie dodgers! Why was he early anyways?"
"I suspect," replied the Doctor carefully- without looking at Amy, Rory, or River, "he wanted to see whether or not he'd gotten the outfit right- perhaps it's been a long time since he's worn it." He explained the unscheduled visit to his baby girl, "And Mummy was waiting up for him, like always, to tell him whether or not this was the right interspatial time machine."
"Oh," replied a truly disappointed Bella. "I thought he camed to see how much room is in my stocking. I used one of yours so it's bigger on the inside."
Her resulting pout and genuine disappointment at "Father Christmas'" real pre-Christmas intentions (that he wasn't there to make sure she received extra gifts) were all it took to break the dam holding back the full, joyous merriment of all the adults in the room, who laughed until they cried.
"That happened to me, too Uncle Jack!" Bella shared later. "I guess a lot of mommies kiss Santa under the mistletoe!" she responded seriously to the song he'd been singing. She missed his snort and chuckle and the look that passed between him and her parents as she tilted her head in thought, a brilliant idea coming to mind. "Maybe next year, Daddy should wait up for him."
A/N- Me again. I just wanted to settle any troubled minds- the "Santa" in this story is really the Doctor in a costume, who showed up in a borrowed suit and snogged his wife. The real Santa Claus was safely back at the North Pole (where he's happily married to Mrs. Claus), preparing for the upcoming holidays. If he shows up early at your house, he probably really is simply measuring how much room he'll need for your gifts. So stop trying to peek at your presents and wait until Christmas morning like a good girl or boy!